Troy’s happy ending

From today’s editorials: Regardless of the reasons Troy Mayor Harry Tutunjian had for rejecting a homelessness grant, others rightly recognized the need. With or without the mayor, the money is coming through.

___________________

Welcome back to Troy, where not so long ago Mayor Harry Tutunjian first couldn’t lure enough federal stimulus money to the city and then rejected some funds that were available.

It’s almost as if that moment when he said the city couldn’t afford to be a beneficiary of some $845,000 to help fight the very real threat and the even worse misery of homelessness never happened.

What matters now, for the mayor’s reputation as well as for the sake of all the people in Troy living on the fringe, is that the money is on its way after all.

Unity House and Joseph’s House and Shelter will distribute the money, mostly as payments for people to catch up on their rent, settle delinquent utility bills — whatever it requires to hold on to an apartment.

The old plan is back in place, essentially. The difference now is that the state, not the city, will oversee the Homelessness Prevention Fund money. About $25,000 of the $845,000 will go toward such costs, mostly of processing claims and handing out checks.

The fuss last month had Mr. Tutunjian saying Troy couldn’t afford such a grant, even when there was $42,000 available to the city for administrative expenses. He said that amount would not be enough.

The result was that Troy was one of the few cities in the country to say no to federal funds for the homeless. Talk about an embarrassment the city didn’t need.

But then Troy also was the site of its own intramural battle over the larger issue of homelessness. That stimulus money was awarded to Troy while Joseph’s House and the city were fighting in federal court over the apartments for the homeless that Joseph’s House is building in the Little Italy neighborhood.

The city settled those lawsuits for $250,000 over four years.

City Hall contended that turning down the federal money wasn’t retaliation for the legal action. Mr. Tutunjian now says what he did was prudent, and argues that the city has gotten a better deal.

The mayor can say what he wants, of course. What’s really prudent, though, is making this money available in the first place, to Troy and hundreds of cities like it, so people in need can stay out of the homeless shelters and off the streets.

“It’s sad that it was rejected and sad that the city doesn’t recognize the need,” says Tracy Nietzel of Joseph’s House. “But it’s a happy ending.”